Saturday, April 4, 2015

Residents and activists are looking on with keen interest as
lawmakers in Austin are discussing new bills that could give probate
judges even more power to place people under guardianship. For years,
probate judges in Tarrant County and across the country have used
far-reaching powers to strip vulnerable residents of their rights and
their money.

Tarrant County’s Guardianship Service Inc. is designed to
protect vulnerable people’s assets. But what began in the 1980s as a way
to provide volunteer guardians for the elderly evolved into a
tight-knit and powerful system of professional probate judges,
attorneys, bankers, investigators, and court-appointed guardians who can
take over people’s lives, place their money in managed trusts, and
relentlessly bleed the estates dry.

A growing number of disgruntled residents are striking back.

“You work all your life just to have these buzzards pick your estate
apart,” said Michael Easton, an activist who agitates probate courts on
behalf of people placed under guardianship in questionable cases.
“That’s not right.”

The probate judges hear the groundswell of discontent. Rather than
accept reforms –– or push for them –– some are digging in their heels.
More than two dozen guardianship-related bills have been filed in the84th
legislative session currently under way. Critics say most of the bills
appear to be filed by politicians on behalf of attorneys who profit most
from the system.

“They steal old people’s money and parcel it out among themselves,”
Easton said. “Family members are left watching on the sidelines. By the
time the person dies or is no longer ‘incapacitated’ –– quote unquote ––
there’s no money left.”

Easton, a paralegal and private arbitrator and mediator, worked with
defendants in two guardianship cases in recent years. Seeing the amount
of power that probate judges wield and their willingness to abuse those
powers to gain access to people’s bank accounts convinced him the system
needed changing. He has since joined many other activists, including
some from Fort Worth, in attending legislative hearings in Austin to
push for reforms.

Easton attended a hearing in 2013 where several probate judges,
including Tarrant County’s Pat Ferchill, spoke out against proposed
reforms. A bill intended to add transparency to probate courts was
blasted by judges, who worried it might clog up their systems.

“Do you think they want to repair the system?” Easton told Fort Worth Weekly back then. “They are happy with the way it is. Right now there is no oversight, and they can do whatever they want.”
Rep. Elliott Naishtat has written two dozen guardianship-related
bills since 1993, many of them brought to him or suggested by Probate
Court Judge Guy Herman of Travis County, Naishtat said.

Naishtat said his bills have added safeguards to wards and families
and enabled probate courts and judges to better determine if a
guardianship is necessary.

“I firmly believe that protecting the elderly and people with
disabilities from abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation should be a
priority,” he said. “I am very proud of the work I have done with
respect to the guardianship-related needs of many of our most vulnerable
citizens.”

Critics say legislators who write bills to please judges are part of
the problem –– but the critics save their harshest words for judges such
as Herman and Ferchill, who lobby lawmakers for legal changes.

“Naishtat is in Herman’s pocket,” Easton said. “Whatever Herman wants
to do, he drafts it and sends it to Naishtat, who sponsors it. Ferchill
testified that he wanted … things passed that would benefit the probate
judiciary. How can this man be a judge when he’s down here legislating?
Judges are supposed to interpret the law and make decisions on that
law, but they’re not supposed to have any say in writing the law.
Proactive judges cannot hear cases.”

Probate courts get involved after someone reports a person at risk
due to mental or physical incapacitation. The guardianship system was
designed to prevent relatives or others from taking advantage of
vulnerable people. The Weekly has profiled several people
forced into guardianships unwillingly and has fielded phone calls from
at least 50 other local families accusing the courts of initiating
guardianships simply to seize assets and parcel money out to lawyers,
bankers, and others.

Some residents have been stripped of their right to hire an attorney, leaving them unable to fight back. Consider Dorothy Luck’s
situation (“Luck for Dorothy,” March 19, 2014): Several of her
relatives sued her after a disagreement about money. The attorney
working against Luck was a familiar face in the probate courts, and he
threatened to initiate a guardianship case against her if she refused to
settle. Luck wouldn’t budge. She’d never heard of a guardianship case
and was unaware of the incestuous nature of the system.

Before long, a guardianship referral appeared in Probate Judge Steven
King’s court expressing concern about Luck’s mental health. Luck’s
relatives protested. They said Luck wasn’t incapacitated, simply
stubborn. They didn’t want her shackled with guardianship. But attorney
Monika Cooper of the ShannonGrace law firm submitted a guardian
referral. She described herself on the referral as being Luck’s friend,
although Luck said they’d never met at the time.

King then appointed LisaJamieson, an attorney with
whom Cooper works, to represent Luck, putting, in effect, the enemy in
charge of Luck’s defense. Luck’s doctors examined her and declared her
mentally competent. So King appointed one of his familiar courtroom
experts to examine her and deemed Luck partially incapacitated. That was
enough for King to put her in guardianship and place her money in a
trust. Regular withdrawals began occurring to pay for the various
attorneys, guardians, and experts appointed by King. Before long, half a
million bucks had disappeared.

In another case, Ferchill held a hearing to determine whether Kathie Seidel was fit to care for her adopted daughter (“Saving Katia,”
July 2, 2008). But Seidel wasn’t informed of the hearing and didn’t get
to defend herself. Ferchill placed her daughter under guardianship and
eventually barred Seidel from visits. To appeal the decision, Seidel
would have to hire a private attorney and also put up thousands of
dollars in a bond at the court’s insistence. She was effectively priced
out of justice. She’s still fighting to free her daughter from
guardianship.

“The average citizen has no idea this is happening until they’re roped into the system and can’t get out,” she said.

Seidel and others affected by court decisions formed Guardianship Reform Advocates for the Disabled and Elderly (GRADE)
and began trekking to legislative hearings in Austin. That growing
scrutiny is prompting judges and legislators to come up with new laws to
strengthen their hands, Seidel said.

“Our small group [GRADE] and another group in Austin, the
Guardianship Reform Supported Decision Making, have been making headway
in showing the corruption of the courts, and so now they’re trying to
get laws into effect,” she said. “I assume there is this rush to get
laws in place so the reformers can’t have as much of an effect.”

More than two dozen bills related to probate courts have been filed
so far. One bill gives judges more power to insist that defendants put
up expensive bonds before appealing decisions. Another would allow
judges to more easily sidestep having to recuse themselves. And yet
another would give judges access to a person’s financial records before
guardianship had been declared.

“The fallout is that they will have carte blanche to look into
people’s finances, determine who has the most money that they can get
access to, and then put them under guardianship,” Seidel said.

Senate Bill 1369 is one of the few that activists deem as friendly to
the people rather than the probate courts. Sen. Judith Zafrinni, a
Democrat from Laredo, introduced the bill that would require better
reporting of fees earned by probate attorneys. Most critics say the ease
with which attorneys corral people into guardianships and then charge
them fees could be somewhat diminished if the information was better
reported.

GRADE Director Debbie Valdez hopes to see that bill passed. Still,
she’s pored over the various bills for weeks and said all but a few
would empower judges at the expense of defendants.

“The person in charge of protecting a ward … is the person who
appointed the ward, and that’s the judge, who becomes the ultimate
guardian,” Valdez said. “We are creating a system where people who
provide guardianship services are immune from civil liability. If we
don’t fix this, we’re all going to be victims of it.”

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An 84-year-old Cleveland attorney is accused of
stealing $115,000 from the estate of a client, and using the money to
pay his bills.

Gerald Cooper is charged in federal court with wire fraud for
stealing from the estate of Henry Luke. He used the money to pay credit
card bills, sports tickets and mortgage payments, among others,
prosecutors allege.

The charges were filed Tuesday in an information, which usually means a guilty plea is forthcoming.

Cooper, a Pepper Pike resident, was admitted to practice law in Ohio
in 1957. He is retired, according to the Supreme Court of Ohio's
website.

Gordon Friedman, Cooper's attorney, said his client is working toward paying all of the money back.

"He has had an outstanding and remarkable career as a lawyer,"
Friedman said. "It is unfortunate that this final moment of his practice
is kind of a dark mark on his reputation."

According to the information:

Cooper filed an application to administer Luke's estate in Cuyahoga
County Probate Court. Between February and March 2014, he received
$138,397 from three of Luke's bank accounts.

Cooper then took $115,000 from the estate between February to October
2014 by writing a series of checks. The money then went into his
personal account.

Probate court records show Cooper resigned as the estate's administrator on March 6.

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel, an arm of the state Supreme Court
tasked with investigating and pursuing discipline against attorneys who
commit wrongdoing, could not say Wednesday whether Cooper faced
discipline.

According to Oxendine, Lockey, 51,
was working as a private home health care worker for an 88-year-old
woman and used the woman’s debit card to withdraw money from account.

“This
case started back in July 2014 and the last dates that we know this was
occurring would have been January 2015,” Oxendine said. During that
time, about $13,000 was fraudulently obtained, he said.

“With help from the banks that were involved, we were able to get this together,” Oxendine said of the lengthy investigation.

Lockey, of U.S. 501 in Maxton, was jailed under an $80,000 secured bond.

Oxendine
said the Maxton Police Department has started a Facebook page to keep
residents informed about crime in the area. Arrests and information
about wanted suspects will be posted on the page, titled “Maxton PD,”
Oxendine said.

“We ask our citizens to go on that page and report crime and become more familiar with the events going on here,” he said.

Friday, April 3, 2015

Public feedback is being sought on proposed changes to ACT Guardianship laws, which will give people with disabilities more say in making decisions.

An inquiry is being conducted by the Australian
National University (ANU) based ACT Law Reform Advisory Council (LRAC)
into the Guardianship and Management
of Property Act 1991, which affects a range of people,
including those with intellectual disabilities, mental health issues,
brain injury and dementia.

Council Chair, Professor Simon Rice said that people
who needed help with making decisions at the moment get those decisions
made for them.

"The ACT law is an old law, and international human rights have moved ahead," he said.

"The reforms are looking at helping those people make
decisions for themselves about their life as far as they can, which is
often much, much further than
people give them credit for."

The Council began its public consultation following a
request from Attorney-General, Simon Corbell request for advice on how
guardianship laws could be
amended to comply with the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

To give feedback, a response booklet is available from the Law Reform Advisory Council at www.lawreform.act.gov.au, from the ANU College of Law and from disability agencies in the ACT.

by Harry S. Margolis
I've always said that the durable power of attorney is your most important estate planning document. It appoints your agent or agents (called your "attorney-in-fact") to step in and act for you on financial and legal matters in the event you ever become incapacitated. It can permit them to pay your bills, make investment decisions, take planning steps, and take care of your family when you can't do so yourself.

In theory, the durable power of attorney is a relatively simple document. All it should need to say is the following:

I, Joe Blow, hereby appoint Janet Planet to step in for me in the event of my incapacity to handle my financial and legal matters.

But in fact most durable powers of attorney run to several pages and involve a number of important decisions. Now, two nationally-known estate planners, Jonathan Blattmachr and Martin Shenkman, have written a whole ebook just on powers of attorney: Powers of Attorney: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Family's Wealth.
Here are some of the decisions you will need to make on your durable power of attorney:...

Thursday, April 2, 2015

TRENTON
– Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a state grand
jury has indicted the owner of an in-home senior care company in
Atlantic County and her sister on first-degree charges of conspiracy and
money laundering for allegedly conspiring with a lawyer to steal over
$2.7 million from a dozen elderly clients.

The
indictment, handed up late yesterday, also charges three other people:
an employee of their company who allegedly conspired with them to steal
from one client; a former caseworker for Atlantic County Adult
Protective Services who allegedly conspired with them to steal from an
elderly couple; and a doctor who allegedly lied to the State Police
during the investigation.The lawyer, Barbara Lieberman,
63, of Northfield, who specialized in elder law in Atlantic County,
pleaded guilty on Nov. 3 to first-degree money laundering and faces a
recommended sentence of 10 years in state prison, including 3 ½ years of
parole ineligibility. She forfeited $3 million in assets seized from
her and her husband, as well as her law license. She is scheduled to be
sentenced on March 25.

The
Division of Criminal Justice yesterday obtained an 11-count state grand
jury indictment charging these five defendants as follows:

Sondra Steen,
59, of Linwood, Van Holt’s sister, who helped run the company and
assisted clients. Conspiracy (3 counts: two 1st degree and one 2nd
degree), Money Laundering (3 counts: two 1st degree and one 2nd degree),
Theft by Deception (3 counts: all 2nd degree) and Official Misconduct
(2nd degree).

Susan Hamlett,
56, of Egg Harbor Township, who worked as an aide for company clients.
Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree) and Theft by
Deception (2nd degree).

William Price,
57, of Linwood, who was a caseworker for Atlantic County Adult
Protective Services when Van Holt was a county caseworker. Conspiracy
(1st degree), Money Laundering (1st degree), Official Misconduct (2nd
degree) and Theft by Deception (2nd degree).

The
charges stem from an investigation by the New Jersey State Police
Financial Crimes Unit and the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized
Crimes Bureau.

“Van
Holt and Steen insinuated themselves into the lives of their elderly
clients by posing as compassionate and trustworthy caregivers, all the
while allegedly plotting to steal their life savings,” said Acting
Attorney General Hoffman. “In some cases, these sisters allegedly
deprived their vulnerable victims of the ability to live out their final
days in comfort and dignity, callously draining away the victims’ funds
to pay for their own pets, swimming pool, expensive cars and Florida
condo.”

“Con
artists frequently target the elderly because of their vulnerability and
accumulated assets,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of
Criminal Justice. “This is a particularly egregious case of elder fraud
because of the way in which Van Holt allegedly used her official
position as a case worker for Adult Protective Services to identify
victims to prey upon.”

“These
individuals allegedly preyed on vulnerable, elderly victims and betrayed
their trust, in order to funnel stolen money into their own greedy
pockets,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey
State Police. “This particular case of elder fraud is especially
sinister, due to the conspiracy charges against so many defendants, who
held such highly respected positions in society.”

Deputy
Attorney General Yvonne G. Maher is prosecuting the case and presented
it to the state grand jury for the Division of Criminal Justice
Specialized Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Deputy Attorney
General Jill Mayer, who is Bureau Chief. Detective Richard Wheeler led
the investigation for the New Jersey State Police Financial Crimes Unit.
Deputy Attorney General Derek Miller is handling the state’s forfeiture
action. Acting Attorney General Hoffman thanked the New Jersey Office
of the Public Guardian for referring the case to the State Police.

It is
alleged that Van Holt and Steen conspired with Lieberman to steal more
than $2.7 million from 12 elderly clients between January 2003 and
December 2012. Hamlett is charged in connection with a single client, a
woman from whom Lieberman, Van Holt, Steen and Hamlett allegedly
conspired to steal approximately $112,000. Price is charged in
connection with an elderly couple he met through his job as a caseworker
for Atlantic County Adult Protective Services. Van Holt also was a
county caseworker at the time, and Price allegedly conspired with Van
Holt, Steen and Lieberman to steal more than $800,000 from the elderly
couple and their estate. Price allegedly received $125,000 of the stolen
funds.

Van Holt
worked as a case worker for Atlantic County Adult Protective Services
from 2002 through December 2007, when she was terminated. Five of the
alleged victims were recruited as clients after they came into contact
with Van Holt through her official public position as a case worker. The
official misconduct charge against Van Holt, Steen and Price relates to
those victims.

It is
alleged that Van Holt generally was the one to identify potential
clients, approaching them to offer the services of A Better Choice and
Lieberman. The defendants allegedly targeted elderly clients with
substantial assets who typically did not have any immediate family,
offering them non-medical care and services, including household chores,
errands, driving clients to appointments, scheduling, budgeting, paying
bills, balancing checkbooks, and other tasks. They did not provide
healthcare services. Van Holt also created a company called “Elder
Hospice,” but it was nothing more than a bank account.

Once a
target accepted Van Holt’s offer of services, Steen usually would be put
in place as the victim’s primary caregiver. In the case of the elderly
couple connected to Price, Price also provided extensive assistance,
particularly with household repairs. Lieberman would then be brought in
to do legal work, preparing powers of attorney and wills for the
clients. Lieberman was a leading specialist in elder law in Atlantic
County who gave seminars to senior citizens on end of life affairs,
wills and living wills.

The
defendants allegedly took control of the finances of their victims by
forging a power of attorney or obtaining one on false pretenses. The
defendants then added their names to the victims’ bank accounts or
transferred the victims’ funds into new accounts they controlled.
Thereafter, the defendants allegedly stole from the accounts to pay
their own expenses, including, for Van Holt and Steen – who lived
together – veterinary bills for their pets, pool supplies, two Mercedes
cars owned by Van Holt, and lease payments on a Florida condo.

A
portion of the money was used to fund the victim’s continued expenses to
keep the victim unaware of the thefts. In some cases, money from one
victim would be transferred to another victim to pay expenses and cover
up the thefts. If the victim owned stocks or bonds, they were cashed out
and the funds were deposited into the account allegedly controlled by
the defendants.

In one
case, Steen allegedly posed as the niece of a 94-year-old woman and used
a power of attorney to put a reverse mortgage for $195,000 on the
victim’s home. In connection with the reverse mortgage, Dr. Daclan
allegedly signed one or more letters for Van Holt related to the
victim’s capacity to make financial decisions. In addition, Van Holt
allegedly forged the doctor’s signature on a third letter. When a State
Police detective asked Daclan about that third letter, Daclan allegedly
lied in order to protect Van Holt, falsely claiming that she prepared
and signed the letter. That is the basis for the charge of hindering
apprehension or prosecution filed against Daclan.

When
Lieberman prepared wills for the victims, she typically named herself or
Van Holt as executor of the estate and named Steen as a beneficiary, or
named other beneficiaries who had little or no ties to the victim and
never actually received anything from the estate. The defendants
allegedly relied on fraud, manipulation or forgery in the execution of
the wills. In this manner, they allegedly continued to steal from the
victims’ estates after they died.

Lieberman
and Van Holt were arrested on March 19, 2014. Van Holt previously had
been arrested with Steen and Hamlett on Dec. 20, 2012, in connection
with one victim. The investigation began after the New Jersey Office of
the Public Guardian referred the case of that one victim to the State
Police.

First-degree
charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison and a
criminal fine of up to $200,000. The first-degree money laundering
charge carries a mandatory minimum term of parole ineligibility of
one-third to one-half of the sentence imposed. That charge also carries a
criminal fine of up to $500,000, and an additional anti-money
laundering profiteering penalty of up to $500,000 or three times the
value of any property involved. Second-degree charges carry a sentence
of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. The
second-degree charge of official misconduct carries a mandatory minimum
term of imprisonment of five years without possibility of parole.
Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in state
prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson in
Mercer County, who assigned the case to Atlantic County, where the
defendants will be ordered to appear at a later date for arraignment.

A bill before the legislature involves stepping up financial accountability.

“I
feel like I am not in America,” Michael Kidd said back in 2009, after
the state determined that he and his wife could no longer care for
themselves. “I can't believe that I have been high jacked off the
street, virtually…imprisoned.”

The state placed Kidd and his wife in a nursing home against their will and took over all of their finances.

It
was only after FOX 4 stepped in and aired their story that a judge
allowed them to return home, but by then, their finances had been turned
upside down.

In Austin on Monday, there
were lots of similar stories, and now a bill has been proposed that
would require more financial accountability for guardians.

“We
have seen attorneys' fees in cases in Tarrant County, Dallas County,
Travis County and Bexar Counties in the hundreds of thousands of dollars
to represent an elderly person who is trapped,” said Deb Valdez, a
guardianship reform advocate.

Virginia
Pritchett also testified about her good friend, Denise Tighe, who was
also placed in a nursing home against her will 20 miles away from her
home.

Pritchett said Tighe had a sizable savings account. She later died with no friends or family with her.

“This
guardianship law may have been passed to help people, but instead, it
enables the greed to take full financial advantage of the elderly,” said
Pritchett. “My friend was never able to spend a day in her home again,
simply because she had lots of money.”

State
Sen. Judith Zaffarini's bill, Senate Bill 1369, would require attorney
and guardians to file a report with the name of each person appointed by
the court, the hours they worked and the compensation paid, and those
reports would have to be available online and physically at the court.

The senator says the current system requires reporting, but only 40 percent comply.

A Travis County judge testified Monday that he has grave concerns about the bill.

“This,
I'm concerned about because it is putting a great burden upon the judge
when I don't have enough staff in my office to do it,” said Judge Guy
Herman of Travis County Probate Court.

Monday was the first reading of the bill, so it is still early in the legislative process.

Sadly,
Michael and Jean Kidd both passed away after FOX 4's stories aired, but
they were back in their home, and that is where they wanted to be.

A former area
resident accused of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult has
been sentenced to five years probation, 50 hours of community work
service, and cannot work in a job that includes fiduciary
responsibilities.

Ashley Loraine
Marschel, formerly known as Ashley Dotzenrod, pleaded guilty in December
to one felony count; in exchange for the plea, an identical
exploitation charge and a single felony count of theft by swindle were
dismissed.

Marschel, 29, of Apple Valley,
entered an Alford plea in Olmsted County District Court. The plea means
Marschel maintains her innocence, but acknowledges that the evidence
would be sufficient to convict her.

The investigation began Sept. 27,
2013, when police were told by a Rochester financial institution that
Marschel had deposited about $50,000 in checks written on the alleged
victim's account into her own checking account. The victim was described
in the criminal complaint as having "significant difficulty in speech
and motor movements," as well as having seizures, all the result of a
stroke several years ago.

The man required the assistance
of others for basic needs, and had a power of attorney document to
assist in financial matters, the report says, classifying him as a
functional vulnerable adult.

In January 2011, the man named
Marschel as his power of attorney; in May 2011, Marschel opened a joint
savings account with the man.

According to the criminal
complaint, the victim's former power of attorney said the victim was
"frugal" and was "aware of Marschel's spending habits." The man set up
the financial arrangement so if Marschel was going to be paid, he would
have to write her the check. Since 2009, only one check has been written
to Marschel, the records show.

When investigators spoke to the man in October 2013, he said Marschel had stolen his money.

Records obtained by law
enforcement indicate Marschel made 143 transactions involving the
victim's bank account from January 2011 to October 2013, for a total of
more than $92,000.

Prior to January 2012, a credit
card in the man's name was paid in full every month, the complaint says.
From January 2012 to October 2013, records showed Marschel used the
card 14 times, with purchases totaling about $11,800.

The man told investigators he hadn't given Marschel consent to use the card.

"In a new report, it seems that antipsychotic drugs are far too often
prescribed, particularly to elder dementia patients (ie Alzheimer’s
disease) in nursing homes.

Republican Senator Susan Collins, of Maine, is the chairwoman for the
Senate Special Committee on Aging. She says, “The report raises many
red flags concerning the potential misuse and excessive use of
antipsychotic drugs for patients with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.”

Federal investigators comment that Medicare officials need to take
immediate action in order to reduce not only the prevalence of these
issues but also the ignorance of them....

Nursing home trade group, The American Health Care Association also
comment that antipsychotic drugs do have some benefit for some patients
with dementia. Those who suffer hallucinations or delusions, for
example, could find great relief, but it is important to monitor use to
make sure that they are not overprescribed and not used inappropriately.

The AHCA comments, “Antipsychotic drugs are expensive, costing
hundreds of millions of Medicare dollars. They also increase the risk of
death, falls with fractures, hospitalizations and other complications.”

The study indicates that several antipsychotic medications may be
overprescribed—not just one or two in particular. This could include:
Risperdal, Clozapine, Zyprexa, and Abilify." as reported at Pioneer News

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

COLUMBUS, Ohio--Ramona Wilson, 74, tidied her house, parked both of her
cars in her garage, shut all the doors and turned on the engines.

But before she could climb behind the wheel and asphyxiate herself, two
strangers were tap, tap, tapping on her front door. Wilson wanted to
chase them away. But one of them — Dave Kessler, of he Ohio attorney general’s office — told her he understood the shame and embarrassment
she must have felt after being conned out of $50,000 by a man she
thought loved her.

“She needed to hear that it wasn’t her fault,” Kessler said.

Ohio officials hope to elevate elder abuse to the forefront of societal
concerns through stories such as Wilson’s in much the same way that
attention was called to child abuse 30 years ago and to domestic
violence 10 years ago, said Cynthia Dungey, director of Ohio’s
Department of Job and Family Services.

The state also plans to create a stronger statewide adult protective
services (APS) system and wants to encourage the kind of collaboration
among caseworkers, law-enforcement agencies, prosecutors and others that
helped put Wilson’s life back together.

She Didn’t Have to 'Stop Living'

“It was like he had been sent from God,” Wilson said of Kessler. “I
learned that while I couldn’t go back and change things, that didn’t
mean I had to stop living.”

Wilson told Kessler how she had met Charles Sellers at church one summer
afternoon in 2005. He was 24 years younger than she was, but they
exchanged phone numbers and struck up a friendship.
What she didn’t know was that Sellers had recently been released from
prison, after serving 10 years for fatally shooting a man during a
gambling argument.

Wilson, who lost her third husband, James, not even a year earlier to
Alzheimer’s, was lonely and still grieving. Sellers, who lavished
attention on her, finally admitted details of his past, but he had
convinced Wilson he was a reformed man, a good Christian, deserving of a
second chance.

After a three-month courtship, Wilson and Sellers married. He then
persuaded her to take out a $14,000 home-equity line of credit on her
North Side house for home repairs and for a business opportunity.

Soon, Sellers disappeared, and Wilson saw ATM withdrawals. Before long
he had blown $50,000, including Wilson’s entire life savings.

“Can you imagine your whole life gone like that?” Wilson asked. “The
worst part was I lost my respect. Even my own children were talking
behind my back.”

With Kessler’s help, Sellers was sentenced to five years in prison in
2007. He appealed and, in 2008, was given five years’ probation and
ordered to pay $14,326 in restitution.

To spare others the pain she went through, Wilson, who had become pastor
of her church, traveled the state with Kessler to tell her story.

“I’m not a victim anymore,” she said. “I’m an overcomer.”

State's New $10 Million Funding

As the nation grows older, state- and county-run APS programs will play a
more critical role than ever in investigating abuse, neglect and
financial exploitation, experts agree. But, they note, programs are
underfunded, lack oversight and vary dramatically because no minimum
standards have been set.

For example, Ohio has 88 counties and 88 different approaches to protecting elders.

To better coordinate the protection, Dungey, of Job and Family Services,
said the state plans to spend about $2.6 million to create a central
hotline, data-collection system and minimum standards and training
requirements for the APS programs in the counties.

Last summer, a working group set up by Gov. John Kasich recommended that
the state also provide $4.4 million in grants so counties can create
plans to meet the new state requirements. Another almost $3 million will
be available to counties that partner with other agencies to fill
service gaps.

“Without question, the willingness of the legislature and the governor
to put $10 million on the table seems to be an indication that the state
is trying to make some traction on the issue of elder abuse,” said Bill
Sundermeyer, AARP’s associate state director.

However, Lynn Wieland, a retired consultant who oversaw the APS in
Cuyahoga County, which included Cleveland, said to truly solve the
problems, the state needs to make a lasting commitment to elder abuse
and provide strong leadership and funding.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced an Elder Justice Initiative
last May to increase the investigation and prosecution of elder-abuse
cases and improve victims’ access to services. It promises to bridge the
gap between existing systems, including adult-protective services and
local law enforcement. (See sidebar.)

Two state representatives reintroduced a bill in February that would
extend the definition of elder abuse to include financial harm, neglect
and exploitation and create a registry to identify and track patterns of
abuse.

Once scammed, many have to go on Medicaid and other public assistance
just to survive. “We want to help keep seniors self-sufficient and help
protect taxpayer money,” said one of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Wes
Retherford.

Innovative Approaches

The Ohio Family Violence Prevention Project, a group of health and
social-services experts, is recommending that Ohio allow “convenience”
bank accounts, which enable a designated party to monitor a senior’s
account and to deposit and withdraw funds.

The project also recommends that the state consider creating an
elder-abuse forensic center, Steinman said. At many of the forensic
centers popping up across the country, public-health and law-enforcement
officials are learning to use the same techniques popularized on the
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV series to root out elder abuse and
neglect.

Despite funding challenges, many adult-protective-services programs are
learning to do more with less, said Andy Capehart, assistant director of
the National Adult Protective Services Association.

For example, New York City sends caseworkers and trained volunteers each
month into the homes of older adults who have problems managing their
finances to help pay their bills and make sure they are not being abused
or neglected, Capehart said.

Sacramento, Calif., contracts with hospitals to provide services to
patients who are frequently hospitalized and at high risk of abuse or
neglect. Fairfax County, Virginia, uses contracted psychologists and
nurse practitioners to help assess the physical and cognitive abilities
of older adults.

Some good work is being done in Ohio, too.

Licking County in Central Ohio, for example, has an interdisciplinary
team of professionals, including court, fire, law-enforcement,
mental-health and social workers, who meet monthly to work on the more
complicated cases. This year, it plans to add representatives of banks
and other financial institutions.

Cuyahoga and Franklin counties have both put more money into their APS
agencies than the state provides. For instance, Franklin, which includes
the state capital of Columbus, received $45,711 in state money last
fiscal year but spends about $1.6 million a year to handle about 1,400
calls.

‘Making it Worth the Pain’

Dave Kessler, who helped Ramona Wilson regain her life, now works for
the prosecutor and the Department of Job and Family Services in
Fairfield County. He still aims to hold accountable the con men and
women who take advantage of the elderly.

Wilson’s ex-husband, Charles Sellers, moved to Massachusetts in 2008.
Wilson said he has paid her just $6 of the $14,326 the court says he
owes. Sellers could not be reached for comment.

Now 82, Wilson can no longer handle the physical strains of touring the
state to tell her story, but she has written a book that she hopes will
lift the spirits of others who have been conned.

“It still hurts, but if I save just one person, all the pain will have been worth it,” she said.

This article is adapted from a longer story by Columbus Dispatch reporter
Encarnacion Pyle, who wrote this series supported by the Journalists in
Aging Fellows Program of the Gerontological Society of America and New
America Media, sponsored by the Silver Century Foundation. Also see her article, “Often, Elderly Abused by Relatives.” Dispatch Librarians Linda Deitch, Julie Fulton and Susan Stonick contributed research for this series.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Amy Klobuchar
(D-Minn.) today announced that they are renewing their efforts to
assist families who are caring for seniors. With almost 12 million
Americans needing some type of long-term care, many adult children are
providing care for their elderly parents. The Senators announced that
they have reintroduced the Americans Giving Care to Elders (AGE) Act to
help reduce the financial burden on families by establishing a federal
tax credit to assist with the costs of caring for an aging family
member.

"I believe that 'Honor Thy Father and Mother' is a good commandment to live by and a good policy to govern by," Senator Mikulski
said. "This legislation will provide the support families need as they
care for an elderly family member, helping them to age in place and lead
more independent and active lives. I will continue to fight so that we
meet the needs of our growing and changing senior population and their
loved ones who care for them."

"Millions of families find
themselves as members of the 'sandwich generation,' coping with the
challenges and costs of care for elderly parents at the same time they
are caring for their own children," Senator Klobuchar
said. "As the baby boomer generation ages, these numbers will continue
to grow. We must do everything we can to support daughters and sons in
this act of love, and this legislation will help make it easier for them
to care for their families."

In addition to establishing a
federal tax credit, the Americans Giving Care to Elders (AGE) Act would
also help expand programs such as the National Family Caregivers Support
Program, which provides education, guidance, and support to people
taking care of loved ones with long-term care needs. Across the United States, more than 65.7 million family and informal caregivers provide care to someone ?who is ill, disabled, or aged.

Senator Mikulski
has been a long-time champion for seniors and their families. She has
cosponsored legislation to renew and expand the landmark Older Americans
Act to further support access to nutritious food and critical care for
the elderly. She created the original National Family Caregivers Support
Program and has worked tirelessly to support nurses and nursing
education programs. As Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Mikulski
fought to pass fiscal years 2014 and 2015 spending bills to keep the
government open and ensure critical funding remains available for
programs that help seniors, including funding for Meals on Wheels,
Senior Centers, caregivers, and senior transportation services. In
addition, she has worked to support increased funding for the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute on Aging and for increases to overall medical research related to Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's, cancer, dementia, and heart disease.

Throughout her time in the Senate, Senator Klobuchar
has been fighting to ensure that all Americans have safety, dignity,
and good health in their senior years. She has authored the Guardian
Accountability and Senior Protection Act, which pushes for stronger
screening and oversight of court-appointed guardians for seniors and
persons with disabilities. She supported the Elder Justice Act to
prevent the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of the elderly, which was
incorporated into the health care reform bill that passed in 2010. She
has also worked to preserve and strengthen Medicare, improve access to less-expensive prescription drugs, and protect seniors from fraud.

Monday, March 30, 2015

It claims a former police detective took advantage of a man with dementia

PORTLAND — A former Medford police
detective who specialized in investigating elder abuse has been accused
of using her expertise to exploit the dementia of a Portland lawyer
before his death last year.

The daughter of Victor Calzaretta says in a
$4 million lawsuit filed in Portland that she was in line to inherit
his estate until Calzaretta married the detective, Sue Campbell, after a
brief courtship. Calzaretta changed his will in 2011 to make his wife
the executor and sole beneficiary.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of Diane Miller
of La Center, Wash., says the detective was familiar with the signs of
dementia and married Calzaretta — her elder by 13 years — “not because
she loved him,” but to get access to his estate.

“Campbell’s actions were taken for the
improper purpose of financially exploiting an elderly demented man for
her own financial benefit,” the lawsuit states.

Sue Campbell Calzaretta declined comment by
phone Thursday. Her lawyer, Jim Callahan, said his client adamantly
denies the allegations, and he spoke no further.

Victor Calzaretta, who died at 72, worked
as a police officer before switching careers in the early 1980s and,
according to lawsuit, amassing an estate worth about $4 million.

In July 2003, he made out a will leaving
his estate to his second wife, Anita. If she died before Victor
Calzaretta, the estate would go to Miller. Anita Calzaretta died in
2004.

The lawsuit states that Calzaretta began showing signs of dementia in 2008, and it worsened the following year.

Toward the end of his legal career,
Calzaretta was hit with two negligence complaints, court records show.
One of them was filed by a client whose lawsuit was tossed by a judge
early into a November 2010 trial. A news report from the time said the
judge sharply criticized Calzaretta for his lack of preparation,
including his inability to even say when his next witnesses would show.

According to the lawsuit, Calzaretta had
been friends with Campbell and bought her a wedding dress in 1994. The
two, however, went years without seeing each other until Campbell
invited Calzaretta to attend a funeral with her in February 2010. They
started dating and got married two months later.

Campbell worked for years investigating
abuse cases involving the elderly. In 2007, the state Department of
Human Services honored her as one of 11 “Everyday Heroes” in the fight
against the crime. The agency said in a news release that the detective
went “above and beyond” her professional duty by taking victims of elder
abuse on outings, walking their dogs, baking them desserts and
celebrating holidays with them.

Calzaretta’s will, a copy of which was
found in Jackson County Probate Department records, is similar to the
2003 terms except that Sue Calzaretta’s name is substituted for the
second wife. If Sue Calzaretta had preceded her husband in death, the
estate would have gone to Diane Miller.

Victor Calzaretta’s other surviving child, Richard Calzaretta of Vancouver, Wash., was shut out in both versions.

Tara Lawrence, the lawyer for Diane Miller,
said her client could not be interviewed and she wouldn’t discuss
Miller’s financial situation.

“(The lawsuit) has so much less to do with
finances,” Lawrence said Thursday. “It certainly plays a factor. But
Diane is bringing this for justice for her father.”

One of Victor Calzaretta’s siblings,
William Calzaretta, said he couldn’t shed any light on his brother’s
relationship with Sue Campbell. But, he added, the family also didn’t
know anything about Victor’s first and second wives until he married
them.

New Jersey has moved to suspend the license of a home health care
agency because it alleges a recent inspection showed falsified records
about the qualifications of many of its employees.

New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Office of Consumer
Protection, announced today it is seeking to is suspend the registration
of Precious Hands LLC of West Orange or having sent uncertified workers to patients' homes. Many of those patients are elderly or disabled.

In addition, the state's allegations include the charge the company
had no Director of Nursing on staff, but rather used three names of
nurses - all of whom told the state they never worked there or even knew
their names were being used.

The violations the state noted involved employee training records and
patient treatment plans. There were no allegations of patient
mistreatment.

UPDATE:Company to appeal order; says all aides are certified
For all 19 of its employees, the company allegedly failed to verify
whether they were licensed or registered by the Board of Nursing, failed
to verify their employment history, and failed to maintain other
required employee records, according to the state.

For 14 out of 15 clients, the company failed to draft a 30-day plan
of care or conduct 60-day evaluations of patient needs, as required.

In addition, it sent 23 uncertified workers to the homes of seven clients, according to the allegations.

The company could not be reached for comment.

In the wake of the deficiencies that turned up in the state
inspection,
Division of Consumer Affairs Acting Director Steve Lee signed a order
fining the company $2,000 and suspending its registration for six
months, beginning April 6.

At the end of that six-month suspension, the company would have to
prove it had corrected the alleged violations, including the hiring of
"a legitimate Director of Nursing," the agency stated. The company would
be able to resume business if the violations are corrected .

Residents who need to hire help for themselves or a relative can consult the Division's guide to the process, available here.

So when Rosenbaum, now 88, fell and shattered her arm at her Indiana
home 3½ years ago, she agreed to move to a rehabilitation center in
Columbus, Ohio, to be near her niece Terri Lane and Lane’s husband,
Denny.

They were her closest relatives, and she loved them as if they were her own kids. Rosenbaum gave Mr. Lane, 63, who had worked as a broker for many years, power of attorney over her affairs.

A short time later, it became clear that Rosenbaum, who had dementia and was growing physically weaker, couldn’t live alone.

The Lanes placed her an assisted-living center and were supposed to pay Rosenbaum’s monthly bills with her long-term care insurance and General Electric pension. But Mr.
Lane, who was unemployed, started dipping into Rosenbaum’s money to
cover family living expenses.

By the time the assisted-living center alerted police about its concerns
in the summer of 2013, Mr. Lane had spent $86,026 and Rosenbaum was
being evicted.

‘Invisible, Expensive and Lethal’ Problem

An estimated 1 in 10 elderly Americans is abused or neglected every
year, often at the hands of family members, caregivers or others
entrusted to protect them, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse. That doesn’t include people like Rosenbaum who have been exploited financially.

Elder abuse is a “rampant, largely invisible, expensive and lethal”
problem that has serious and devastating effects and requires immediate
action, said Kathleen Quinn, executive director of the National Adult Protective Services Association (NPSA).

Rosenbaum, who now has a court-appointed guardian, eventually went to
another assisted-living center and then moved nursing home, when her
health declined last December.

Ohio has seen 14,000 to 15,000 reports of abuse, neglect and
exploitation of people 60 or older in each of the past five years. But
the number reported elder abuse cases don’t show the whole problem.
Victims often are unable or afraid to tell police, relatives or friends
because of illness or fear of being harmed or removed from their homes.

A recent study funded by Ohio’s HealthPath Foundation estimates that at
least 105,000 people 60-plus are abused or neglected each year in the
state. By comparison, 103,000 are hurt in falls requiring emergency care
and 123,000 discover they have cancer.

“Most people are shocked to learn that the incidence of elder abuse is
as common as cancer,” said Kenny Steinman, an adjunct assistant
professor at Ohio State University and co-director of the Ohio Family
Prevention Project, which did the report.

Safety-Net Cuts to Worsen Problem

The problem will only get worse, experts say, as the nation grays and more seniors receive in-home care.

Cuts to other state safety-net programs, such as cash assistance, also
are forcing more struggling adults, including some with alcohol and drug
addictions, to move in with their parents and grandparents, increasing
the likelihood of abuse or neglect, said Jack Frech, retired director of
the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services.

Older adults who are abused often suffer lasting physical, mental and
emotional anguish that can take years off their lives. Abused seniors
are three times more likely to die early than those who have not been
harmed, and almost 1 in 10 will go on Medicaid for the poor, after their
funds have been drained, according to the National Adult Protective Services Association.

The problems with Ohio’s flawed adult-protective-services system
are separate from but related to the state’s guardianship program. That
system allowed court-approved guardians to neglect or abuse their
wards. In early March, the Ohio Supreme Court issued new rules for the
training and oversight of guardians, and the legislature is considering
additional regulation.

Nationally, a new study by True Link Financial, a private
financial-services company, recently concluded that elder exploitation
costs victims about $36.5 billion a year — 12 times higher than
previously thought.

“Sadly, they lose much more than just money,” said Kai Stinchcombe, True
Link Financial’s CEO. “ Of seniors who experienced fraud, 1.8 percent
lost their home or other major assets as a result, 6.7 percent skipped
medical care, and 4.2 percent reduced the number of meals they ate, for
budgetary reasons.”

Across the country, such programs charged with investigating reports of
suspected elder abuse, neglect or exploitation are overextended and
underfunded, experts agree.

“Workers are undertrained, overwhelmed and can barely keep up with the
mounting caseloads,” said [Bob Blancato, national coordinator of the
Elder Justice Coalition in Washington, D.C.]

Many Ohio counties have tax levies that support senior services, but few use that money to fight the mistreatment of seniors.

“Our state funding keeps getting smaller as the number of elder-abuse
cases keeps growing,” said Sara Lewellen, a supervisor with the Pike
County Department of Job and Family Services. “As a result, we struggle
to provide bare necessities.”

Ashland County, for instance, received $2,516 from the state this year
and has budgeted another $6,748 from federal block-grant funds, but that
still isn’t enough to pay for a full-time elder-abuse caseworker, said
Cassandra Holtzmann, director of the county’s Department of Job and
Family Services.

“It’s a real dilemma: The state wants us to build up our foundation, but
they’re not willing to pay for it long term,” she said. The number of
Ohio’s adult protective services caseworkers has shrunk from 630 in the
early 1990s to about 250 today, according to state figures.

The Center for Community Solutions found
in 2013 that 39 Ohio counties lacked a full-time staff person devoted
to elder abuse, leaving child-welfare caseworkers or local police to
handle the investigations.

Ohio’s Protections Vary Sharply

The realities of child- and adult-welfare cases are different, said
Wendy Patton, a senior project director for Policy Matters Ohio, a
policy research institute.

For example, caseworkers can’t remove adults from their homes simply
because of their suspicions about abuse. And, if faced with a backlog,
many counties place the priority on cases involving children.

The skills are different, too, Patton said. Child-abuse caseworkers are
required to attend 102 hours of training their first year, followed by
36 hours of ongoing training annually and 12 hours of domestic-violence
training within two years, said Bobbie Boyer, program manager for the
Institute for Human Services.

Right now, training for elder-abuse workers is voluntary, but that might
be changing. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services hired
Boyer’s institute last summer to create a basic curriculum for workers
in APS based on a national model including extensive in-person and
online sessions.

A lack of financial and other resources has resulted in inconsistent services from county to county.
Ohio law requires that reports made to adult-protective-services
agencies and programs be investigated within 24 hours in emergency
situations, and three working days for non-emergencies.

After the initial investigation, the process can vary dramatically,
depending on a county’s resources. Some counties investigate as required
by law because that’s all they can afford. Others also connect seniors
to social services such as transportation or home care and do follow-up
visits to make sure the person is safe.

“Often, what you get depends on what side of the county border you
happen to live on, which is unfortunate,” said Richard Browdie,
president and CEO of the Cleveland-based nonprofit Benjamin Rose
Institute on Aging.

Browdie, formerly Pennsylvania’s Secretary for Aging, said Ohio should
beef up its mandate for the programs, set minimum standards, provide
adequate funding so the requirements can be met, and hold them
accountable.

Any additional support would help, advocates say, because cases are
becoming increasingly complex and harder to resolve. A lack of training
of law-enforcement officers, inadequate criminal investigations, low
rates of prosecution and unwillingness by some courts to deal with
elder-abuse issues can also be stumbling blocks.

Abuser in a Bind

In Emma Rosenbaum’s case, Franklin County APS petitioned Probate Court
to appoint a guardian to help find new living arrangements. The agency
also worked with law-enforcement officers and the prosecutor’s office to
hold Mr. Lane accountable.

Now, though, the agency no longer works with people in eldercare
facilities, as Rosenbaum was, leaving that to the state long-term care
ombudsman’s office, said Sally Smith, a supervisor with APS, part of the
Franklin County Office on Aging.

Mr. Lane knew what he did was wrong but felt he had little choice, said
his attorney, Kyle Stoller. He and his wife were both dealing with
health problems, and their daughter had been in a car crash and wasn’t
insured, court records show.

“He was not using the money for drugs or gambling or fancy cars or a
house,” Stoller wrote in court documents. “He was simply trying to take
care of his family and stay afloat.”

Michael Juhola, a Worthington lawyer, who is Rosenbaum’s guardian, said,
“I think it was a situation of a good person making a bad decision.”
Mr. Lane pleaded guilty to a felony count of theft last May and was
sentenced to four years in prison. He recently petitioned the court for
early release so he can work to make restitution.

Juhola supports Mr. Lane’s early release as long as it benefits Rosenbaum, he said.

This article is adapted from a longer story by Columbus Dispatch reporter
Encarnacion Pyle, who wrote this series supported by the Journalists in
Aging Fellows Program of the Gerontological Society of America and New
America Media, sponsored by the Silver Century Foundation. Also see her article, “Greed Often at Heart of Ohio Senior-Abuse Cases.”
Dispatch Librarians Linda Deitch, Julie Fulton and Susan Stonick
contributed research for this series. Pyle also discusses her series on Sunny95 radio.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

NRS 151.93:
Winding up affairsThe guardian of the estate is entitled to retain possession of the ward's
property already in the control of the guardian and is authorized to perform the duties of the guardian
to wind up the affairs of the guardianship;(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), 9c) or (d), for not more than 180 days, or a period that is
reasonable and necessary determined by the court after the termination of
the guardianship;

*******************Clark County Family Court Guardianship
Commissioner Jon Norheim who works under the supervision of Judge Charles
Hoskin is allowing this violation of Nevada law to occur.

Leann is the niece of former Clark County Sheriff
Ralph Lamb, and the daughter of the late William Peccole, developer of Peccole
Ranch in Las Vegas. Leann has two sons, Gavin and Camden who run the family business,
Peccole Nevada Corp., and believe Shafer is an "attorney" looking out
for their late mother's best financial interest.

Jared Shafer is not an attorney. and I suggest
that the Goorgian brothers terminate his "guardianship" immediately,
and use whatever remains of her looted estate to set up a UNLV scholarship
in her honor. - SM

In 2007, former television
journalist and journalism professor Eric Gormly made history at the
University of North Texas for suing one of his own students. In the
suit, he accused two professors and the student of conspiring to give
him a bad performance review that got him fired. School officials said
it was the first time they had heard of a UNT professor suing a student.
"The university is disappointed that a former faculty member would file
a lawsuit against a student who trusted him to do his job and follow
university policy with respect to initiating complaints," a UNT official said at the time.

In an interview now, Gormly downplays his lawsuit against a student.
"I did not sue a student. My attorney at the time included a student as
one of the defendants," he says.

However you slice it, Gormly clearly caught the legal bug. After leaving teaching, as he explains online,
he got a degree from the SMU Dedman School of Law and opened a practice
in Richardson that specializes in LGBT cases and family law.

But now it's Gormly's legal career that faces a bump in the road. In
February, Gormly was sued in Dallas by the Commission for Lawyer
Discipline, a committee in the State Bar responsible for disciplining
attorneys. According to the petition filed by the committee, a man named
Anthony John Gonzalez had hired Gormly for a post-divorce family law
case. Gonzalez paid $2,500 upfront. But Gormly "neglected" the client,
the State Bar committee says, so Gonzalez fired him.

Gormly wasn't going to let himself be fired. Gormly "failed to
withdraw from the ease, filing a petition on March 12, 2014, after he
had been fired and after Gonzalez had made demand that his money be
refunded," the commission writes. "Upon termination of representation,
Respondent failed to refund advance payment of a fee that had not been
earned."

Gormly says that he believes Gonzalez didn't deserve a refund and is
confident that he has done nothing wrong. He suggests that his former
client acted unethically. "Let's just say he made some accusations that
were unfounded and inappropriate and then he threatened to take action,"
Gormly says.

In fact, Gormly describes angry clients as a widespread problem in
the legal industry. "It's becoming more common that the client will fire
the attorney and demand all their money back, and if they don't get
their money back he'll file a complaint with the State Bar."

When an attorney faces a complaint from a client, the first, lowest
level in the grievance procedure is a private disciplinary action
handled by the State Bar. Public discipline against attorneys in the
district court, on the other hand, isn't common. Gormly is the only
attorney so far this year and the first since December to be sued in
Dallas by the Commission for Lawyer Discipline, public records show.
Nevertheless, Gormly says he wants to be sued by the State Bar.

"When this happened to me, I was so outraged by the unfounded
accusations, the audacity -- check that I didn't say that -- I was so
outraged by the unfounded accusations, I decided that since I had done
absolutely nothing wrong and I had nothing to hide, I wanted to pull
this out of the administrative system and put this out in the district
court. That was my decision."

When a nursing home has been accused of
derogating its duty to properly care for a resident or residents, or
suffers allegations of not just neglect but abuse,
it can be subject to all types of legal action. This includes
regulatory sanctions by the state or federal government (if the home
accepts Medicare or Medicaid federal dollars), criminal prosecution
against a staffer for abuse, a civil lawsuit by a state attorney
general, or a civil lawsuit by a victim of neglect or abuse or that
victim’s family or guardian. Some nursing homes or holding companies
that own chains of nursing homes have seen multiple claims against them,
and jury awards or settlement figures that can truly rack up. Yet many
can survive because they are financial juggernauts – particularly the
bigger, more corporate-owned facilities. This is not always the case,
however. If faced with a burgeoning of lawsuits, a nursing home’s owners
and administrators may decide it needs protection under bankruptcy law.

California Nursing Home Entity Goes Bankrupt

In recent news, it was reported that a nursing home owner in California
filed for bankruptcy because it could be on the hook for millions of
dollars if lawsuits against it go against them if there are jury awards
or expensive settlements. North American Healthcare owns over thirty
nursing homes in the western United States, and one of its facilities in
California just faced fines levied by California for providing poor
care to its residents on top of numerous lawsuits against them by
residents or their families. That particular facility was reportedly
fined $100,000 back in 2013 when a patient died from an overdose of a
blood thinner, and has been the subject of numerous complaints to the
state – one of its current lawsuits stems from a patient’s fall and
subsequent death at the facility.

Increase in Health Provider Bankruptcies

As the New York Times has reported, from 2010 to 2014 there was a 38%
increase in bankruptcy filings by healthcare providers across the
country, presumably due to the types of lawsuits brought by patients as
well as lawsuits and enforcement-type actions brought by the government
for poor care or for accusations of health insurance (e.g. Medicaid)
fraud. The health care entities making these filings include hospitals,
home health care services, and nursing homes. Typical filings are under
Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, which allows for reorganization by an
entity in order to shed debt, pay off certain debt, and become leaner
yet remain functioning. Creditors, including those awaiting payments
from a litigation award, must get in line to split what is available,
and that could mean a smaller payout than what they were supposed to
have received. As the article states, Chapter 11 filings overall dropped
60% during that 2010-2014 time, indicating the even starker difference
between the need for bankruptcy protection between the health care
industry and other industries.Ulterior Motives?

Some critics ascribe bankruptcy filings not to an effort to become
fiscally solvent and viable again, but rather as an escape mechanism to
avoid the possible judgment awards or settlement payments that could
happen. Proponents and the facility owners simply see it as a last ditch
resort of self-preservation. In this particular case, the defendant
company is still profitable, but anticipates it will not be if it loses
too many lawsuits, therefore it is preemptively seeking bankruptcy
protection.

Follow NASGA's Facebook Page

Twitter Updates

Twitter Updates

Follow NASGA on Linked-in

Google+ Followers

Help Support NASGA!

Another great way to donate to NASGA is by doing your online shopping with Goodshop!
They will donate up to 20% of your purchases back to us and offer great savings at places like Neiman Marcus, Adidas, and Sundance Catalog.
So, you can save money and help us stop guardian abuse too!

Follow by Email

NASGA supports

Disclaimer

Victim stories are written and submitted by individual victims. NASGA has no knowledge or responsibility as to the accuracy or validity of their statements. Use of any such story or information contained therein in any manner is not authorized without prior written consent from NASGA or the individual author.

Comments on this site are moderated. NASGA reserves the right to accept, reject or delete any comments posted. Comments are the sole responsibility of the sender.

This site contains links to web sites controlled or offered by third parties (non-affiliates of NASGA).

NASGA hereby disclaims liability for any information, material, products, services, or any other, posted or offered at any of the third-party sites. By creating a link to a third-party site, NASGA does not endorse or recommend any products or services offered. NASGA further disclaims liability for the content, security, validity or accuracy contained in said third-party sites.

NASGA Followers

NASGA

NASGA (National Association to STOP Guardian Abuse, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) public-interest, civil rights organization formed by victims of unlawful and abusive guardianships and conservatorships. We seek legislative reform of existing law and upgrading of criminal penalties for court-appointed fiduciaries misusing protective proceedings for unjust enrichment and engaging in elder and family abuse.

Our mission is to promote the safety and well being of vulnerable persons subject to injury and damage in their person and property through unlawful and abusive guardianship and/or conservatorship proceedings; to end the growing violations of due process, civil and human rights; to work towards ultimate legislative reform of guardianship as presently practiced; upgrading of criminal penalties for court-appointed fiduciaries misusing protective proceedings for unjust enrichment; and to be a support organization for victims and their families. We carry out our mission through research, outreach, education and advocacy; and going forward, by alliance with community interest, law reform, civil rights and other advocacy organizations.

Any copyrighted material included herein is distributed in accordance with the Fair Use section of 17 U.S.C. 107, in the interest of public research and education, without profit.

NASGA claims no credit for any images posted on this site. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it to appear here, please E-mail at Info@StopGuardianAbuse.org with a link to the image and we will promptly remove it.

Comments and opinions posted to our Blog are our readers - not NASGA. We do not censor comments, and we welcome opposing views. We do reserve the right, however, to delete any submitted comment which contains foul or obscene language.

Please visit our website by clicking the link below for more information on how you can help stop guardianship / conservatorship abuse.